Facing down an unprecedented malevolent enemy, the government responds with a nuclear attack. America as it was is gone forever, and now every citizen - from the President of the United States to the homeless on the streets of New York City - will fight for survival. In a wasteland born of rage and fear, populated by monstrous creatures and marauding armies, earth's last survivors have been drawn into the final battle between good and evil, that will decide the fate of humanity.

Your Likes make Audible better!

Publisher's Summary

"We're about to cross the point of no return. God help us; we're flying in the dark, and we don't know where the hell we're going."

Facing down an unprecedented malevolent enemy, the government responds with a nuclear attack. America as it was is gone forever, and now every citizen - from the president of the United States to the homeless on the streets of New York City - will fight for survival.

Swan Song is Robert McCammon's prescient and shocking vision of a post-apocalyptic nation, a grand epic of terror and, ultimately, renewal.

In a wasteland born of rage and fear, populated by monstrous creatures and marauding armies, earth's last survivors have been drawn into the final battle between good and evil, that will decide the fate of humanity. They include Sister, who discovers a strange and transformative glass artifact in the destroyed Manhattan streets... Joshua Hutchins, the pro wrestler who takes refuge from the nuclear fallout at a Nebraska gas station... and Swan, a young girl possessing special powers, who travels alongside Josh to a Missouri town where healing and recovery can begin with Swan's gifts. But the ancient force behind earth's devastation is scouring the walking wounded for recruits for its relentless army, beginning with Swan herself.

Please note: Two chapters were originally missing from Part 2 of this book. We were alerted to the problem on 11/21/11 and have corrected it. We're very sorry for any inconvenience. If you had already downloaded the book, don’t worry - your library has automatically updated with the corrected version. Simply re-download from your library, at no additional cost, to get the complete book.

This would be great as a class project on how to write a bad novel. I cannot find the right words beyond trite, predictable (in the worst way)., boring in the extreme. I resolved to continue listening about half way just to recalibrate my standards. But it was tough. I have never been so glad to finish anything.

What do you think your next listen will be?

I like doomsday books, but mostly I read fiction that deals with real history.

What aspect of Tom Stechschulte’s performance would you have changed?

His reading was OK. It must have been hard to keep coming up with the emotive cues when a book is as bad as this one is.

What character would you cut from Swan Song?

All of them. Not a single character was believable. The Josh character is a horrible racist joke. The Swan character might be the worst fiction creation I have ever experienced. I was rooting for the devil character by half way through the book.

Any additional comments?

It is just possible that the author wrote this as a gag, putting in every cliche he could think of. It is a gag, one way or the other.

This was an absolutely awesome book. I LOVED everything about it and I was so sorry when it ended. In my opinion this is a classic that rates up among the very top. Do not miss out on this one. I rarely write any kind of review but this book definitely rates one. A++++++ all the way.

Where does Swan Song rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

one of the best Audio's books of it's type I have read.

What other book might you compare Swan Song to and why?

The Stand. A similar story concept, but much much better. It is a much more intense and complete look at a post-apocalyptic world and the people left behind. It is much more interestingly presented and written about and the characters, I feel, are better developed and easier to relate to or believe. McCammon does an excellent job of putting you into their shoes (or lack thereof) and creating multiple characters with extreme character personalities. He goes way beyond The Stand's character's and morphing them into totally new, and incredible, beings. This is not a zombie book, but I do not want to give away too much. The "devil" creatures in both are well developed, but much more interesting and explained in Swan Song.

Any additional comments?

A must read if you liked The Stand or post-apocalyptic novels. It is not a monster or zombie book, but if you like those you should like Swan Song, too. IT deals with survival, but also of inner strength and courage and goes into the inner personalities of the characters.

An ending that doesn't include a megalomaniac with a "doomsday" machine. I felt like I was listening to a James Bond movie with an unlikely bad guy who has a doomsday machine that exists beyond credibility. The doomsday machine relies on nuclear weapons launched from satellites that have existed 10 years past nuclear winter.

Has Swan Song turned you off from other books in this genre?

A bit. I like post-apocalyptic stories, but this one too itself too seriously with a cruddy ending. I kept waiting for a meaningful ending, but it never came. Cliche is the order for day for this book.

Did the narration match the pace of the story?

Narration was OK.

If you could play editor, what scene or scenes would you have cut from Swan Song?

The ending.

Any additional comments?

Not worth the many, many hours it took to get to the end of this book.

How does one make a nuclear war boring? By telling it from the perspective of cardboard characters, and by not bothering to do any research on how such a conflict would proceed. I listened to the first four hours of this book, and found nothing to hold my attention. I didn't care about the characters, with the possible exception of Josh. I found his description of the nuclear Holocaust laughable in it's inaccuracy. I was dissatisfied with the performance, but since I can't put my finger on just why, it could be that the book was simply too poor for even a good narrator to bring it to life. Very disappointing in almost every respect.

Would you try another book from Robert McCammon and/or Tom Stechschulte?

No

What do you think the narrator could have done better?

Give up on creating female voices. I would have given five stars for the performance had he not done so poorly with the female voices.

What reaction did this book spark in you? Anger, sadness, disappointment?

Disappointed. I was looking for something like The Stand. I wasn't looking for a lot of originality, but the writing was so sloppy as to spoil my experience.

Any additional comments?

Plotting was poor. Obvious foreshadowing was frequently not followed up by the author. Based on the frequent descriptions in the book it appears that the author believes 90 percent of the people in the world have blue eyes. The other 10 percent have

I"m mystified by the positive reviews.. it reads, well - badly. Like a teen attempt at a genre filled to the brink with talented versions. Maybe it's just me? I found the storyline painfully uncreative and I'm a huge end of the world, creepy terror, classic spook story kinda gal... trite, dissappointing, uninteresting even when i was low on books. And I sometimes relisten to things many times. I'm not hard to please. I'll keep it on my ipod and attempt to get through it someday - but I just drove 20 hours and have had it for a month and can't get past part one. Teach me to buy based on hours long...

I read this book years ago and still have it. Glad it finally came out on audio. I listen to it and going to again. I am sure I miss some of it the first time around. Great listener. Hope more of his books come out on audio too.

Its one thing to talk about what would happen, its another to go into detail of the sounds, textures, and smells as people crush each others skulls for the last scraps of food. Yick. I could stand it for once or twice, but every 10 minutes or so it got too gorey for me. I also didn't care the fantacy side of things. The shapeshifting satan character, and the dream glass ball, were too dumb for me to enjoy.Here I am a grown man, father of 4 and I felt like I needed to take a shower after listening. I only got through 10 hours then called it quits. Don't know how it ends, don't care. Yick, yick, and icky.I will say this. The actor that read this book should get an award! So many voices, and with such natureal tallent. WELL DONE.

I do seem to like an end of the world disaster book; I was hooked from the beginning to the end. Soooo!! well read full of emotion. Great characters good and evil. A must read or listen.Buy enjoy you won't be disappointed.

0 of 0 people found this review helpful

Amazon Customer

Planet Earth

4/3/14

Overall

Performance

Story

"Superb post-apocalyptic thriller"

Swan Song is a superb story from the pen of Robert McCammon, written in 1991 there are a few similarities to Stephen King's 'The Stand' but anyone who enjoyed SK's masterpiece from the late 1970's will certainly enjoy this tale.

Clocking in at over 30 hours this story is a real epic & Tom Stechschulte does a great job with the narration (although I did think his portrayal of 'Sister' to be a little tiresome at times), the story has a really good flow & for Audible members a 30+ hour quality book is great value for a single credit.

0 of 0 people found this review helpful

dawn

cornwall, United Kingdom

3/23/14

Overall

Performance

Story

"A great big story in length and in content!"

Would you listen to Swan Song again? Why?

Yes, I listened to it again as soon as I had finished as it is so long and complex I wanted to make sure I had it all straight in my head!

What other book might you compare Swan Song to, and why?

Yes, a bit like but not really the Stand, if you enjoy post apocalyptic tales this is for you!

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

don't want to do any spoilers......but yes! the end

Any additional comments?

I did not really know of this or the author, I usually find my audible books by looking at good reviews of books I have enjoyed - glad I found this.....it is sad though! We live in this big beautiful world full of amazing things - our plant is mind-blowing - let us pray that we do not ever have this post WW3 world with a 7 year winter! Keep your cool leaders of the world! It is only in your hands for safekeeping for future generations - not yours to abuse of damage.

0 of 0 people found this review helpful

karen

3/18/14

Overall

Performance

Story

"forgotten goodie"

read this years ago, and had a credit spare so treated myself. a bit different from Stephen Kings THE STAND but I had forgotten how much I enjoyed reading it

0 of 0 people found this review helpful

Nadine Sutton

UK

2/18/14

Overall

Performance

Story

"Awesome - if you like The Stand, try this"

Would you consider the audio edition of Swan Song to be better than the print version?

Unknown - have not read the book.

What did you like best about this story?

I love an in depth epic. Being a huge fan of The Stand on audio, this followed suit and has become a favourite.

0 of 0 people found this review helpful

Lee

IPSWICH, United Kingdom

2/2/14

Overall

Performance

Story

"One of the best audio books I have heard"

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Definitely especially for a long journey. This is a great story unwinds and twists and turns so that the final solution cannot be guessed. I really enjoyed this book even though the subject matter is somewhat dark. The characters were well-defined and different enough that you could follow them. I was kept guessing how they would all be put together throughout the story. The background to the story and the different environments were well described so that you felt you were actually in each different town or scenario. Although the subject matter is sometimes troubling it was never so horrific that you could not listen. I felt that it was accurate description of what the world after nuclear holocaust would be. Cold, troubled, definitely scary and challenging. Recommended very highly!

What other book might you compare Swan Song to, and why?

This book is singularly different different but the closest I could find to compare it with is 2016.

Have you listened to any of Tom Stechschulte’s other performances? How does this one compare?

I have not will fully intend to.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

The final battle for life as we know it was heartwarming and totally not foreseeable within the writing. I really thought that the end was nigh but the author Paul something out this hat at the last moment. Tears streaming and surprised.

Any additional comments?

I came across this book by accident not having heard of the author but will definitely be searching for other books by the same author. The narrator was also very good he had a cast of players that he was able to give different voices to and this enabled me to follow the story much more easily it also gave a good sense of being involved with the storyline.

0 of 0 people found this review helpful

PAUL BRIERTON

WALLASEY, United Kingdom

1/20/14

Overall

Performance

Story

"Great Listen"

Where does Swan Song rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

With out doubt my favorite of all the books i have listen to on this site :)

0 of 0 people found this review helpful

Helen

Tallow, Ireland

1/12/14

Overall

Performance

Story

"Excellent story"

What did you like most about Swan Song?

This is like Stephen kings The Stand and Colm McCarthys The Road in one book with a twist.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Swan Song?

There are lots of memorable moments in Swan Song, but none that stand out in particular.

What about Tom Stechschulte’s performance did you like?

I thought he did a great job, especially with sister who seemed so real.

0 of 0 people found this review helpful

Derek

HULL, United Kingdom

12/10/13

Overall

Performance

Story

"Fantastic"

Now this is a story. I loved this one. No spoiler to say that this is a post apocalyptic tale, the transition from normal everyday life to the resulting wasteland is horrific and terrifying. The emerging characters have depth and the power to grip you through an epic of a story that takes a cross the burned out wasteland that is now their home. You get to follow a number of individuals changed forever, some for good, some for oh so bag and you just know as the story progresses that the point is coming when they will all meet. I found that as this story unfolded, I was not just listening to it, I had invested in it.

This is all massively supported by Tom Stechschulte's superb narration, Stechschulte identifies each individual character and breathes life into them. .

It is going to be a hard act to follow. Well worth the credit/cash

0 of 0 people found this review helpful

Roderic

Victoria Park, Australia

12/10/13

Overall

Performance

Story

"Flat characters and dull plot"

What disappointed you about Swan Song?

The characters were one-dimensional and the main aspects of the story were delivered in a clumsy way.

Would you ever listen to anything by Robert McCammon again?

No.

Would you be willing to try another one of Tom Stechschulte’s performances?

Your report has been received. It will be reviewed by Audible and we will take appropriate action.

Can't wait to hear more from this listener?

You can now follow your favorite reviewers on Audible.

When you follow another listener, we'll highlight the books they review, and even email* you a copy of any new reviews they write. You can un-follow a listener at any time to stop receiving their updates.

* If you already opted out of emails from Audible you will still get review emails by the listeners you follow.